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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425995">Another Pair, Another Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkapikasnikka/pseuds/Rikkapikasnikka'>Rikkapikasnikka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ancient History, Ancient Laos, Gen, South East Asia, Zombies, but not really?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:22:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425995</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkapikasnikka/pseuds/Rikkapikasnikka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They were a pair, they were partners, they were destiny.</p><p>In the ancient kingdom of Lan Xang, they were chosen to defend their home, the capital Luang Phabang. Evil Spirits have been haunting their citizens for far too long, and Seunying and Ngeuok must confront this evil before it spirals out of control. </p><p>Written for the Miraculous Fanworks Server May 2020 Challenge: Past Miraculous Holders</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character/Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>May 2020 - Past Holders</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Another Pair, Another Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome everyone to this one-shot! I literally wrote it in a single sitting after tons and tons of research. Whoops! Enjoy!</p><p><b>Some notes:</b><br/>• Lan Xang is the kingdom of Laos, founded in 1353. The story takes place in 1372.<br/>• Luang Phabang is the capital of Lan Xang.<br/>• Ngeuok literally means “fishman” but fishmen were considered to look like dragons/naga.<br/>• Seunying means “female tiger”<br/>• The Mekong is a major river in Laos. The Nam Khan is a smaller river that feeds into it.<br/>• Mount Phou Si is a religious, Buddist hill in the city of Luang Phabang.<br/>• Sinh is a traditional Laotian skirt, made of silk with patterned embroidery<br/>• Salong is a traditional Laotian pants, also made of silk.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They were a pair, they were partners, they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>destiny.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The great city of Luang Phabang in the kingdom of Lan Xang was their stage, and they were the mightiest of actors to have ever graced its presence. He, Ngeuok, was the dragon, the protector of the Mekong River, and she, Seunying? She was the tiger, the guard of Mount Phou Si. Together, they worked tirelessly every evening to defend their homeland from the evil spirits that plagued their citizens.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was always happy to see her. Her long, black hair was twisted and pulled up out of her face, which was always mostly hidden by a purple, silk mask. Her golden, cat-like eyes gleamed at him as the sun’s last rays peeked out from behind the forested mountains. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you see anything on the way here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seunying spoke while she was perched elegantly in the high branch of a tree, her simple sinh allowing her ease of movement despite the way it clung to her. The long skirt was a rich magenta with darker stripes, like the tiger she represented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did not,” Ngeuok answered softly. His own silk mask was red and black, outlined in gold. It glinted in the dying light. “Have you heard them yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her round tiger ears flickered, almost unnatural on a human, but he thought they were perfectly suited to the rest of her magical attire. She shifted her feet and hopped down from the tree, the broad shawl draped across one shoulder fluttering behind her. She used the small, circular dhal shield on her wrist to brace her impact and roll upon landing. Despite the metal braces and greaves covering her arms and legs, she landed with no sound. Her armour, an unnaturally deep fuchsia, shimmered in the twilight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s concerning,” he replied honestly, unhooking the long red sword from his back. His own costume was red and black and gold, stark and bright against the darkening sky. He both loved and hated the baggy, royal-like salong pants; they reminded him too much of home. He also sported greaves and bracers in brilliant crimson and glistening gold. “Normally they’re out and about by now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think they’ve left?” Seunying asked, straightening up with a frown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The braided cords on his shirt and armour looked like black dragons entangled in a dance. They shifted as he walked to the edge of the cliff to look out over the land. Twisted, naga-like horns moved with his head as he surveyed the Mekong. A smaller river that twisted through the capital poured into the mighty vein that fed their farmlands, and his jaw tightened as he watched the water’s surface. It was brown and muddy from the recent rains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should spread out, cover more ground. I have an uneasy feeling about this,” she said, her golden eyes also scanning the rivers and the mountains beyond. Ngeuok knew she was looking for the tell-tale signs of spiritual activity, but he had no idea if she could see any better than he could in the grey light. “Should we check the temples again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he said as he looked back at her. “I don’t believe what that man told us. I do not think a monk is responsible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remember what the guardian said?” Seunying hissed. “The mouse escaped. The rooster, missing. If those are our enemies-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we fight. We are superior.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked unsure, but Ngeuok knew his words were true. They were the dragon and the tiger, Emperor and King, yang and yin; his ferocity balanced by her patience, and her strength balanced by his agility. Their partnership and their connection could only be rivalled by one other set of miraculous jewels: the ladybug and the black cat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the ladybug and the black cat were off in a distant land, settling a war that was bigger than even he, a prince of this small kingdom, could fathom. And so, this smaller, immediate problem had been handed to a different pair who had to be just as in sync, just as coordinated, just as important.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ngeuok did not know Seunying’s real name, and she did not know his. As they left their meeting point to jump and climb over buildings and trees, he figured it didn’t matter. They were meant to exist, like this, as partners bound up in magic and flow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first evil spirit they encountered was on the shore of the smaller river, the Nam Khan. The sunlight was mostly gone, and the spirits were braver in the dark. It was chasing a child, and Ngeuok heard Seunying growl her first command as they approached.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tiger of the earth!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dragon of the wind!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He faded into the air as a breeze, swirling through the buildings, and she melted into the earth, as if the dirt were mere milk and she was water. Together, they carried the youth away from the spirit and into the safety of an alley between buildings. She sobbed and cried, but her tears faded away as Seunying materialised before her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh, sweet young one. We will protect you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ngeuok landed himself in front of the spirit, wielding his sword, and gave a roar as he charged. The spirit, purple on the edges and dark between, chittered and chattered as it dodged and parried his attacks. They danced in their fight, trading blows faster than the human eye could see, before his red sword finally slashed through the spirit’s body. It dissolved into mist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seunying dropped down from the rooftops and landed beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I took out another one while transporting the child home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grumbled. “Two? What game are they playing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. Stay alert.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, my shield.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She chuckled at the nickname as she slipped back into the shadows. Oh, how he loved her!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If only he were not to be a king of Lan Xang, so he could pick any wife he wanted. Instead, he was a prince, currently training to take over for his father, who was making more and more enemies at court each and every day. Military leaders did not do well during times of peace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He disposed of three more spirits before they met up again. She was panting, if only softly, and he wondered if she had met the same levels of resistance he had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s more,” Seunying growled, much like her tiger-namesake. “On the other side of the river.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cursing, he turned to look at the opposite bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let us get over there, shall we? Dragon of the water!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His body became wet and fluid, and Ngeuok picked her up and carried her over to the northern shore. They landed with grace, and she quickly used her shield to deflect several blows from dark spirits that tried to pounce on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tiger of metal!” she sang. Ngeuok grinned in triumph as he appeared beside her, watching her body take on the polish of purple iron, and together, they stood their ground, back to back, side by side, from the onslaught of spirits. Several disappeared when they landed just a blow, but others maintained their solidity and pushed against them, screeching and chittering in the night air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, just when Ngeuok was thinking that it was getting too dark to keep up the fight, the moon broke over the mountainside and bathed the city streets in fiery blue light. The reds and purples of the heroes’ costumes became monochrome, and the moonlight flashed and sparkled on the metal of their weapons and armour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moon caused the spirit he was trying to fend off to whimper and flinch away. It swerved to avoid his sword and fled up the street, limping and crying, and Ngeuok made a rash decision in that moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have to follow it!” he yelled at Seunying. She turned to him in surprise, her gold eyes wide and glowing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” she snapped, but he was already pursuing after the dark spirit. He was still using his water powers, and he leapt from one rooftop to another with a splash. Behind him, he could hear his partner grumbling as she tried to keep up. Her metal element made her heavy and strong, but it slowed her down immensely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ngeuok!” she cried, chasing after her partner. She scrabbled through the city streets until she reached the edge of the capital. He had dropped down at the base of a small mountain, overgrown with trees and bush, and she reached his side as he frantically looked around for the spirit he had been following. It had slipped away from him, and he was desperately combing the plants and boulders for the creature. “You should never run off like that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was returning to its master! I had to!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?” she hissed, her eyes narrowing. “They’ve never led us to the rooster before; for all we know, this was another trap!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Properly ashamed, he slipped into a defensive stance and looked around. The ground was uneven and bits of junk, some made of metal and others of fabric, were strewn about. He held his sword in front of him, and Seunying held up her shield as she guarded his back. They circled, eyes darting everywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A loud, frenzied cackle cut through the silence. A tall man, dressed in an orange and scarlet ensemble, dropped down in front of them. Together, they whirled to face him. Seunying hissed and growled low in her throat, and Ngeuok stiffened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cape was made of feathers and rested heavily on his shoulders. A plume crested out of his helmet, a long tail of red fluff. His armour was multiple small plates fused together, like the scales on the belly of a snake. His boots were vermillion leather.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A Mongol warrior!” Ngeuok spat out. “Why are you here in Lan Xang?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rooster stepped forward, proud and arrogant, and Seunying protectively stepped in between the two men. He let her, knowing she would not be truly harmed, and that he would rush to her aid the moment their enemy struck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because there are so many ghosts, so many souls to awaken!” the rooster crowed, his words laced with giggles. The two partners glanced at each other, unnerved, but Seunying’s face soon settled into determination. “So many of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead </span>
  </em>
  <span>to command!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And by the aid of the moonlight and their night vision, they witnessed the Cawing of the Rooster. Together, the heroes took several steps backwards, terrified as bodies of the dead started to rise around them. The realisation hit them both simultaneously: They had been led straight onto an ancient battlefield, so that the rooster would have fuel for his power. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seunying screamed and smashed her dhal into the face of one of the dead as it approached her, and Ngeuok cut down another with his sword. The dead pulled loose from the earth like scabs from a wound - the holes they left behind were loose and open, dangerous pits the heroes tried not to stumble into.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go! Get them! Grab them!” The rooster commanded his soldiers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seunying!” Ngeuok cried. “We need to-!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know!” she yelled back. “We need space, though!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He groaned out of frustration, knowing she was right. Together, they quickly cut down enough of the growing army to give themselves some breathing room, but the smell was an assault on their senses. Rage and anger bloomed within his chest as one body tried to touch him; Ngeuok recoiled into his partner, and she used her shield to smash in its skull. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On three!” she commanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On two!” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On one!” she laughed, as his sword swept through another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tiger of the fire!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Dragon of lightning!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light from their combined magicks flared to life and could be seen from kilometres away. He was storm and power and electricity, and she was inferno and energy and heat. Where he ripped through flesh and bone and armour, she consumed and devoured what he left behind. Plants shrivelled, water vaporised, and the very air became charged and sparked from their bodies. All at once, the dead were gone - zapped and turned to ash, mere charcoal littering the ground. What few dark spirits that had remained to fight had now fled, too terrified of the light as bright as the dawning sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rooster took a step back in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had never used these powers before. Water and wind, earth and metal, had been all they had ever needed: powers to nourish a kingdom, and powers to protect it. Lightning and fire were entirely different energies, meant only to rage and destroy, and the partners had vowed to never use them unless the situations were dire enough to warrant them. Confronted now with the very enemy that had prompted the guardians to act, Seunying and Ngeuok had arrived at that decision. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mongol warrior took another step backwards, and then he tried to turn and flee. Ngeuok zapped his way towards him, striking the ground with a thunderclap and materialising again. He held his sword up to the rooster’s throat, and Seunying pulled herself out of the flames to push her shield into his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are an ancient pest!” she snarled. Ngeuok loved her most when she was angry. “Outdated and shameful! Leave your magic jewel, and be gone!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am older than time!” the rooster sneered. “I will restore my empire, and a couple of young brats like you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>stop me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave a fierce roar, like a matriarch defending her cubs, and slammed her shield into his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ngeuok let him slump to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was beautiful,” he gushed, grinning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it, my sword?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the most extraordinary woman I know. Will you marry me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seunying blinked, her glowing, golden eyes still stark despite the small fires that still burned around them. And then her face split into a smile, dazzling and gorgeous all at once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ngeuok,” she purred. “Now is not the time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know!” he laughed, bending down and picking up the rooster to search him for his miraculous. He found it on one of his hands: an intricate, golden set of rings on the thumb. He slipped it off, and the feathers and armour all slipped away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should return that to the guardian,” Seunying said with a sly smile. He looked up at her, refusing to examine the Mongol warrior that had given them so much trouble over the past several months. How one had travelled all the way here, and had lived for so many years, baffled Ngeuok - but he guessed that was the power of a miraculous, even one that was being misused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And we will, but first-” He stood up to his full height. “You haven’t agreed to marry me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She examined him slowly, her yellow eyes wandering over all of him, and he lifted his chin proudly. After several long seconds, in which the fires behind her slowly died and the night wind blew cold and bitter and the chirp of insects could be heard, she smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. You just have to find me first, my sword,” she teased, turning away to start back down the hill. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he grinned in triumph. “I will scour all of Lan Xang for you, my shield.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her laughter as she ran back to the capital was music in his ears.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to both Poppy and Cass for the beta read! Thank you Sibby for the challenge! Thank you to Maspers who helped me come up with the idea for the Tiger's powers!</p><p><a href="https://discord.gg/mlfanworks">Come and join us on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord server!</a><br/>We are a community of MLB fans who write, read, beta, collab, and even exchange fanfiction and fanart. We run events, Author AMAs, calendar prompts, writing and art sprints, and we even have a book club for fanfics! Come join over 500 amazing, supportive Ladybug and Chat Noir fans today!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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